Ballet Philippines continues its celebration of 39 years of
dancing with its second production of the season titled New Beginnings.
Opening on Friday, October 17, at the Cultural Center of the
Philippines, the wide-ranging program is highlighted by the company premiere of
Alvin Ailey's acclaimed Night Creature. New to the Ballet Philippines'
repertoire are company and Philippine premieres of Max Luna III's Mga Awit and
The Hurt We Embrace and Alan Hineline's Thresholds II.
One of Ailey's most classically choreographed ballets with music by jazz-legend
Duke Ellington, Night Creature captivates with Ailey's sexy nocturnal
rituals that propel the movement into a fast paced climatic catharsis. In Mga
Awit, Max Luna III and Filipino composer Michael Dadap team up to explore
the many cycles of male camaraderie. Alan Hineline's Thresholds II is an
angular, sexy, and fast-paced work that pushes classical ballet to its edges
and audiences to their feet.
First staged in 1974 for his own company, the Alvin Ailey
American Dance Theater, Night Creature has been described by the New
York Times as "one of Mr. Ailey's happiest works. It has a joyful pulse, a
sophisticated entente with its sophisticated music that carries on the best of
the Ellington tradition."
In keeping with the artistic directors' strong belief in the importance of live
music and keen desire to re-introduce it to the Ballet Philippines' audience,
Max Luna III's Mga Awit will be performed live. Luna uses Filipino
composer Michael Dadap's stunning trio for tenor, cello and piano, "Mga Awit ng
Pag-ibig," as a source of inspiration to explore the complex world of male
camaraderie. Mga Awit features 12 male dancers of Ballet Philippines in
an athletic, sensitive and masculine exploration of the Luna/Dadap work.
In a recent interview, Luna described his work, The Hurt We Embrace, as a depiction of the treatment of women in mid-twentieth century Filipino Society. The work, a duet for a male and female couple, explores the complexities and vagaries of their relationship. The Hurt We Embrace was originally created for Elizabeth Roxas-Dobrish, Honorary Gala Chairperson of this year's New Beginnings Gala, and premiered for his own company, Luna.
Artistic Director Alan Hineline has collaborated with U.S.
composer Jerome Begin to create Thresholds II. The ballet and score were
originally commissioned and premiered by the Dayton Ballet in March of 2008,
just prior to Hineline's arrival in the Philippines to assume duties at the
helm of BP. Collaborators for many years, Thresholds II, is the eighth
in a series of works by the two artists. Over the years, the process of making
new work together has evolved into collaboration in the truest sense of the
word-an on-the-spot pairing of music and dance that ties the music directly to
the choreography.
New Beginnings' schedule at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo is as follows: October 17
(3 p.m. and 8 p.m.), October 18 (3 p.m. and 8 p.m.) and October 19 (10
a.m. and 3 p.m.).
For information about ticket prices, subscription and the
season's performances, please call 551-0221 and 551-1003, email
info@balletphilippines.org or check its website at www.balletphilippines.org